The Pleasures of Portugal.

I recently returned from a two week holiday in Portugal. This would seem like an exotic and complicated trip to most, but lucky for me I am only a 1.5 hour flight away with one hour time change. My dear friend and fellow traveler Andrew did not favor as well coming from New York.

Regardless, this trip, holiday, therapy was one of the best in my life and I have been to some amazing places. Travel is all about attitude, no expectations, sense of adventure and if you travel with friends, pick them wisely in that they share these important points for pleasure.

Andrew and I met in a small bar on a chilly night in Lisbon 14 years ago. One can never predict a friendship or that you will return to travel through the same country all those years later. Andrew and I come from very different worlds yet share the same sense of humor and adventure. We gave ourselves two weeks to travel from top to bottom, Porto in the north to Faro in the south. Andrew leading the crazy life of a New Yorker he had no time to plan and therefore I was left to my own clever divises. He trusted me and yet I felt concern to give us both a great holiday.

Looking back over the two weeks I could not have been more pleased and our last words together shared these feelings. A good friend is an investment and I am not sure which one of us is the richer.

Portugal....was everything and more. The architecture, the food, the street to gallery art, charm and self expression was incredible. I could have not asked for more. It was a pleasure to experience a big enough difference from Spain, the country I love so much. Every town we visited had its special flavor and sound. We explored with a sense of adventure, followed our senses of smell, taste and desires and were not disappointed. Rarely did we follow a tourist guide and mostly listened to locals and followed our hearts.

Yes, of course there were disappointments, mistakes and unpleasant surprises, but as expected have become great stories, often humorous, to share. Portugal has an odd sense of logic and humor (I think) with things such as public transport, website updating and over salted food. Foreign travel is always with challenges and I feel lucky this was all we dealt with. No need to express details, just assume the stories are good and will get better with time. Oh, did I mention all the hills and stairs? Be prepared.

Now for the joys of Portugal and there are many. The old buildings are simply stunning. Imagine already beautiful pieces of architecture and then covering it in hand painted, sometimes dimensional, colorful glazed ceramic tiles? It is like a great cake with whipped cream and sprinkles. Also, almost every street and sidewalk is cobblestoned in great detail and with patterns!! Amazing craftsmanship. Many things about the cities in Portugal remind me of Barcelona 15 years ago especially with street art and self expression. At some point I am sure this will be stopped due to development, but for me I noticed and it was wonderful. It must also be mentioned that Portugal has all the flavors of its former territories such as Cape Verde, Brazil, Mozambique and Goa, India. The music, culture, food and life is colorful and exuberant. I loved all those flavors and it added to the pleasure of the experience.

I do feel a bit of sorrow for Portugal in that tourism is taking over and killing a lot of charm. Barcelona is in a love/hate relationship with tourism and is more negative than positive. I believe the world needs to be explored, but with respect. Unfortunately, different cultures have different approaches to respect and there is much responsibility needed on behalf of the country visited to adapt to this surge. My advice, hope and encouragement to all those that love to travel is to go with adventure, open your mind, don't judge and most importantly

respect and embrace the differences.

Viva, ame, coma e viaje!